The Republic of Ireland's current official national debt, in money terms, and as a percentage of national income (a measure of how much it is leveraged):
Ireland's national debt (NTMA definition - see 'Composition of 'National Debt' table) as a percentage of 2017 GDP (€287.093 bn)* (on the left, below), and as a percentage of 2017 GNP (€234.915 bn)* (on the right):
| GDP | GNP |
|---|---|
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The FINANCE DUBLIN Irish Government Debt Clock was set at midnight on June 30th 2009, when it was €65.278 billion (38.4% of the 2009 GDP of €170.1 billion). This indicates that while debt has fallen dramatically from the 100+% levels of the 2011-13 period, and while the Irish sovereign credit rating has been restored to A+ levels, the national debt shown in the above debt % counters, in proportionate terms, is still some two thirds higher again than it was at the outset of the 2007 financial crisis.
*Note: The Debt Clock updates the latest figures for the National Debt of the Republic of Ireland. The clock is re-set periodically to reflect changes in debt and deficit estimates from the Dept of Finance, the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), and agencies such as the Central Bank and ESRI. .
Debt ratio definitions: (a) The GDP value used is the most recent money estimate (forecast) for the current year by the IMF, while the GNP value is the most recent estimate published by the Central Bank of Ireland. (b) The debt total is the official 'National Debt', as defined by the Irish National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA). It differs from 'Gross Government Debt', a figure commonly used by Eurostat, and the EU for expressing debt figures in the EU. The above debt figure, as an expression of the public debt burden of the Irish economy (i.e. its leverage) is arguably a more accurate measure of its indebtedness, expressed as a ratio of GDP/GNP. This is because the GGD figure does not account for Exchequer financial assets (notably its investment in the domestic Irish banking sector), cash balances, and sovereign wealth fund assets. Other, higher, (gross) figures, which include private debt, usually do not include external assets, while expressions of total private debt, including the financial services sector, are particularly inappropriate as a measure of the Republic of Ireland's indebtedness (e.g. the measure of its foreign debt shown on the US debt clock, (at www.usdebtclock.org), as it accounts only for foreign liabilities, but not assets, of Ireland's International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).